Smallmouth.......it's time!

[Guest]

Well after spending a nice fall and winter with Steelhead on my mind, Easter always brings me into Smallmouth mode. Actually with so much Steelhead fishing/talk I have been caught with my pants down and realize I am waaaay behind on tying Smallmouth flies.

 

This coming weekend will be my first day out this year(If I get my fly rods back from Hubbard ) and I am more than excited about this year. The stream that I started fishing last year in SE Indiana is going to prove to be a great Smallmouth stream and I didn't fish it until late July last year, and we still managed numerous fish in the 15 - 17" range. I have high hopes of a 20 incher this spring because I know they are they are there.

 

A guy at my work fishes the same stream with Hellgrammites and Minnows and he caught a few this past weekend and gave me a tip that they were only hitting on the smallest minnows in his bucket.....which sounds kinda strange for Smallmouth

 

I realized I only had some really big Clousers so I spent last night tying up some smaller versions just in case what he says is true.

 

Is anybody else planning on chasing the mighty Bronzeback this weekend?

[Guest]

Don't worry about tying anything fanncy for them lesser species from what I hear thay will hit any old piece of you through at um. LOL

 

Have Fun

OSD.

[Guest]

Yea unlike your Steelhead that will regularly take Chartruese eggs.......have you ever seen a Chartruese egg.....didn't think so. It takes a real smart fish to say "Hey that green egg sure looks good!"

[Guest]

Ya but I haven't taken a trout or a steelhead on a Chartruese rubber worm with gliter in it but I bet you catch a bass on one

 

 

Have Fun

OSD.

[Guest]

True......but you can catch a ton of trout AND Steelhead on Powerbait....What is that stuff anyway....colored dog food?

[Guest]

Never used the stuff but it dose look tasty

Good Luck Will catching them Green slimy fish

Come up this may and let me and Shoe show you some real clean fish

Strait form crystal clear water (NO )

 

 

 

OSD.

[Dble Haul 0]

It's Playdo chum, thank you very much.

[Guest]

Bob,

 

You and shoe need to come down and tangle with a few mean green fighting machines, and quit playing with those sissy trout.

 

If you come bring your 8wt!

[Guest]

One of my ears starting bleeding, now I know why.

 

Look at it this way Bob, the more guys chase the "lesser species", the more room we have on flowing water Did anyone say carp?

 

Will,

The reason they may be looking at the smaller offerings could be do to the colder spring. They may not be able to metabolize the bigger meals. (Pure speculation on my part) More than likely some more

 

[Guest]

Shoe your probably right, but very rarely do I ever "size down" for a Smallmouth. I'm sure they have just begun actively feeding and the water needs to warm up a few more degrees before they get real agressive. Of course it's in the 40's all this week, so that's not helping out the situation out any

 

I think you guys would be surprised and really enjoy Smallmouth fishing from what I have seen it is very similar to trout fishing except you have a little better fight on your hands when you hook into a pissed off Brozeback

[Guest]

In all honesty, I used to target them (and then my dad got a job LMAO)

We would float rivers like the Looking Glass, Flat and Grand in our State. They are a blast and very eager to ambush a meal. I would love to try them on a flyrod. I bet it's a blast to see them come out from under a log and smack a muddler. We would mostly use bladed baits like Beetle Spins and jigs with grubs tipped with a piece of crawler for scent. They do fight like hell, especially the dark ones

 

That weather sure took a turn for the worse. Even in NC they were talking about unseasonable weather at least 'til the weekend. Won't be long, I promise

[JackG 0]

i like to fight the smallmouths on lake champlain, smallie why are you using an 8wt? wouldnt you think its a little heavy, ive always gotten by with a 6.

[Guest]

Jack I actually use a 5wt for Smallmouth, I was just giving OSD a hard time

 

However this year I plan on throwing some BIG topwater Balsa and deer hair bugs and I just might use the 8wt for some of that stuff. I have a very big balsa cicada that I plan on throwing when the cicadas come at the end of May and those will be best suited for the 8wt.

[travbass2 0]

Will,

The reason smalies target small baitfish this time of year, is diue to the fact that the baitfish ARE that small this time of year. As we get into summer, the baitfish get bigger and by fall, they are chasing 5-7" shad and other kinds of minnows and fry. Matching the hatch, the size of baitfish or craws goes a long way to smallmouth success. They are alot alike to trout when they focus on s aspecific size, color, and kind of bug. Of course you can always do a "hatch buster" by throwing a streamer into a pod of midge-eating rainbows with some success, just because it's something different that what they have been eating for days/weeks. Smallmouth are already suspicious creatures, having a level of intelligence that is higher than most anglers realize. If you are throwing stuff that is totally different than what they have been eating in the river, like throwing a 6" streamer this time of year, the bigger fish will ignore it and know it's a fake, but if you get the color and size right, you can bust them all day long. Let the fish tell you what they are eating, pay attention to what is going on in the river and you can usually figure it out with some practice. Having a general idea of what they are eating helps too. I found in my river that they focus on crawdads through the winter, craws and small baitfish in the spring, medium size baitfish, terrestrials, lizards, hellgies, and whatever falls in the river during the summer, and they focus on bigger minnows and shad in the fall until the water shocks the systems of the shad and they die off. Then they feed pretty much exclusivly on craws for their high protien and energy content. I've done quite a biut of divine/snorkeling in the river, watching the habits of smallmouth, how they interact with each other, how the rest, feed, and move around. I watch their reaction to passing boaters. I have a great interst in how the bass react to the lures tossed in the water, what turns them on and what turens them off. I found that line visibility plays a big role in the bigger fish hitting a lure or not. That is why I fish with fluorocarbon and blends, using as light of a line as I can get away with, usually 6-8lb test. The FC helps emensly in fooling the 20"+ smallies. They like foods that mimic what they eat, meaning they don't really react well to pink rattletraps, but there's alwaysd exceptions to the rules, especially with fish. Once you think you've got them figured out, they do something to nulify everything you though was right....kinda like women!!!

It has taken a decade to figure out some of the secrets to this river and the big smallmouth lurking in the depths. the river still has alot to give up and I love trying to unlock the secrets. Underwater observations of the bass have helped so much, excellerating my knowledge faster than just watching things from above water.

Take a mask, a snorkel, and some fins and get wet this summer. Check out your creeks and rivers and you'll be amazed at what you find. Just be quiet and move with slow deliberate movements and the bass won't pay much attention to you once you are near them. They start acting like themselves quickly if you are quiet.

That is one of my favorite things to do, drop my anchor in a good hole and swim around, seeing where the bass are holding and get a bettr understanding of the structure below the suirface and figure out why the hole is better than other ones. I have learned so much by doing that. You can pick up these things for pretty cheap now. I got a snorkel from Dick's for under $10. My mask and fins are another story. They can get expensive, but you do get what you pay for. I have a $110 mask and $60 fins. They are worth every cent, but you can get serviceable fins and mask for about 30 or 40 buicks for them both. Body Glove is a good brand to start with. You can understand alot about fish and the structure they hold on by watching them underwater. It is so peaceful to be underwater, surrounded by nice warm, clear water. That is where I love to be. I love diving so much, I have taken classes to get certified as an Advanced Open water diver, with Night diving, cave diving, and Rescue diving certification. I have been to the Keys a number of imtes to fish and dive, and my dad, little sister and I went to Venezuala to celebrate our diving certifications and loved the tropical waters. I especially loved catching Peacock bass in the junglewaters!! I had such a great time, next time I go that way, I want to go to Argentina or Chilie and see the southern waters of South America. Someday I am going to circumanviget the globe and i want to see the Cape of Good Hope, at the tip of South America to see what I'm going to encounter. I hear that once past the 40th parallel, there are no laws, once past the 50th parallel, there is no God. Those waters can be unreally huge with storms and high winds. I've read many books on solo sailing around the world, it is something that interests me greatly., It will be an incredible journey, one that I will do before I get too old. Someday......

[Guest]

Well TB, If you do sail around the world be sure to take plenty of paper and a case and a half of pencils